I Stay To Watch You Fade Away
by Lady Arachnia
Summary: Sarah Griffith has a past full of pain and disappointments, now she is entering Hogwarts during her final year of schooling, just as the TriWzard Tournament begins.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Arrivals**

_In a perfect world  
This could never happen  
In a perfect world  
You'd still be here  
And it makes no sense  
I could just pick up the pieces  
But to you  
This means nothing  
Nothing at all_

Sarah Griffith stepped out of the carriage that had brought her as far as the Entrance Hall of the Hogwarts castle. Her dark eyes flickered over the other kids as they crowded forward into the halls, though she could not see them. Her one disability was her blindness. The other kids shoved past. All were laughing and chatting as though they hadn't a care in the world, no burdens on their shoulders. Nothing like her.

FLASHBACK

_10 years before_

_Eight- year-old Sarah Griffith sat on the floor of the family room, her older brothers and sisters sitting all around her. Twenty-year-old Cassy Griffith, now known as Cassy Blansing, sat holding her new son, Charlie. Her husband sat beside her cooing over the baby. The twins, Jeremy and Jasmine Griffith, were snickering over the pictures they had taken the previous school year. They would use them as blackmail the coming year. Terry Griffith, Sarah's mother, was knitting quietly by the fireplace. Andrew Griffith, Sarah's father, was reading the newspaper. Sarah sat happily, reading her newest book, Quidditch Through The Ages. She loved Quiditch, and even though everyone claimed she was too young, she was a powerful player. Her sharp eyes made her an ideal Seeker. Everything was quiet, until... A resounding bang, like a cannon blasted open the front door. Sarah's parents were on their feet, wands drawn. A tall dark woman stepped inside, followed closely by three men. "Ah... Andrew, I was told I might find you here." Her lips curled into a cruel smile. "Now, we might be persueded to leave most of your family intact if you will just give us little Sarah." Terry placed herself between Sarah and the intruders. Andrew wrapped an arm around his wife. "You can leave my house, now. You'll not be getting any of my children." His voice was firm and proud. He whispered something to his beloved wife and kissed her one last time. Terry snatched up her daughter and ran up the back stairs. The older children were already on their feet with wands drawn as spells began to fly. Andrew was the first to fall and was followed by his children. Terry darted into her daughter's bedroom and threw a set of clothing and a blanket into a bag. "Here, Sarah." Terry pointed her wand at a locket she wanted Sarah to take. Inside was a picture of the family. It became a Portkey that would take Sarah to the place designated only. Never to work after the first time. "Sarah," She said gripping her daughter's shoulders tightly,"The locket will take you far away from here. I have to stay and help your brothers and sisters if possible. And Sarah whatever happens, don't forget that I love you." SHe hugged her daughter and kissed her. Sarah picked up the locket and the last thing she saw was a blinding light, this forever blinded the child._

Sarah's family had been killed that night by Bellatrix Lestrange and her friends. There was no one left for Sarah and so she was sent to a orphanage. Sarah felt her heart tighten at the thought of her dead parents. They would be so proud of all that she had accomplished in her life, but now, they were long gone. The kids began moving into the Great Hall and Sarah let herself be pushed along. The falcon perched on her shoulder kept her moving in a straight line. It had been trained to help Sarah see without human help. Sarah had already been Sorted prior to this. Someone had Sorted her this summer. Supposedly she was in the house of Gryffindor. Someone bumed into her. "So sorry." Came a boy's voice. "Excuse me." She said politely gripping his shoulder. "Could you show me to the Gryffindor table?" "Sure thing." The boy replied taking her hand and leading her to the proper table. "By the way, my name's Cedric Diggory." The boy said to Sarah. "Sarah Griffith." Sarah replied. She sat down at the table and Cedric left her alone. The Hall around her suddenly fell silently. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts," An older wizard intoned," This year, Hogwarts has been selected to host a legendary event, the Triwizard Tournament." "Wicked." Breathed two boys across the table from Sarah. Twins she guessed or else really good friends. "Would you please welcome the lovely ladies of Beauxbaton Academy and their Headmistress, Madam Maxime." From the entrance came the sounds of sighing and bowing. The hairs on the back of Sarah's neck went up. It unerved her that these girls were so close to her right now. At least one of them was at least part veela who really knew? "And now welcome the proud sons of Durmstrang and their Headmaster, Igor Karkaroff." A war-like chant filled the air and the pounding of staves. This was much more interesting to listen to than the sighing of pretty little girls. Running feet and the sound of fire being blown became aparrent to Sarah. Then... a hush fell over the students and a boy near Sarah squeaked,"It's him, it's Viktor Krum!" Sarah turned in her seat, her blind eyes wishing for but a moment to see this legendary Seeker. She had heard so much about him, he had done everything she had wished to do and now he was inches away. After the students had sat down the feast began.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Meetings**

_Everytime they put her down, she makes a fist and the tears roll down  
She packs her bags and plans to run away  
And everytime she makes a friend, the vicous cycle starts again  
She's never, ever, ever looking back_

Sarah had to find her way up to the Common Room on her own, but at least she had time to think. Oh how she wanted to be in the tournament, but... maybe she could manage, it might not be so hard. Just then someone bumped into her, knocking her to the ground. "I'm terribly sorry, miss." A thickly accented voice said, as the boy extended a hand to her. The falcon had lept off her shoulder when she fell and now, Sarah was completely blind. She stretched out a hand feeling the air, looking for the hand. When she couldn't find it she got to her feet on her own. The boy and his friends stared at her. The boy motioned for his friends to go on without him. "Here," He said grasping her arm and leading her gently in the direction of the tower, he had been dragged there by fangirls before his friends had rescued him,"My name is Viktor Krum." He continued,"And you are?" Sarah felt her heart jump. This was Viktor Krum? He was different than she had expected. He wasn't too stuck up to help her. "My name is Sarah Griffith." Sarah responded. A warm smile was bestowed upon her by the famous Seeker. "You are not a rabid fangirl are you?" He was growing suspicious of her calm smile. Sarah shook her head," No, definitely not." For a few minutes the two continued down the hall with the falcon following at a distance. "I'm sorry to have knocked you down. Did you hurt anything?" He asked. "No, thank you for asking though." Sarah was being polite but not very open. "I noticed you ignored the Beauxbaton girls, but quickly turned around when a boy near you squeaked out my name." Viktor was curious about this girl. Sarah smiled slightly,"The girls unerve me, being part veela and all. But... for years I've heard of your skill on the Quidditch field. I love Quidditch but because of my injury, cannot play. You have done things I had only dreamed of doing as a little girl, now you can do them and I can't." Sarah stopped and a soft sigh escaped her lips. Viktor too fell silent. They reached the bottom of the tower just as 3 other kids came running down the hall. Viktor said a quick good-bye and disappeared. The falcon came and landed on Sarah's shoulder again. The 3 kids stopped and stared at Sarah. "Could you get me into the Common Room please? I'm afraid I was never told the password." The kids obliged and Sarah hurried up to her room. Dumbledore had given her a private room because of her disability. She smiled as she nestled into bed, maybe things were going right for once in her life.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: The Entrants**

_Feel the touch  
of tears that fall  
-they won't fall forever  
In the way the day will flow  
all things come,  
all things go_

Sarah hurried down the stairs to breakfast, she was already late. The falcon had been off hunting and everyone else had left so she was alone in the dorms. "Ah, Miss Griffith, best hurry everything's getting cold." Professor Dumbledore said as he met her outside the Great Hall. Sarah smiled and hurried to sit down. The falcon was slacking and Sarah did not see the foot extended into the isle. She went sprawling across the floor. Snickers filled the hall as she slowly got to her feet. Silence descended on the hall as someone helped her up. "Are you all right?" Viktor asked softly. People were staring at him. He was used to it, but it still made him uncomfortable. "Yeah, I'm fine." She said as he helped her to her seat. She gave him a dazzling smile, "Thanks." He bowed to her and kissed her hand before returning to his own seat. Sarah could still feel people staring at her. The falcon fluttered onto her shoulder. "Oh go away. You aren't being helpful as of late." She snarled at the bird. It looked affronted for a moment and made a face it had learned from her (Which it was lucky for the falcon she couldn't see.), before flying off into the rafters. Sarah ate her breakfast in peace. Professor McGonagall handed out the timetables to her house. Sarah discovered her's was in Braille. Thankfully she had learned to read Braille years before. She had first hour with Professor Snape in the dungeons for Potions. Again Sarah was able to do this. She had placed labels in Braille on the ingredients with permanent sticking charms and her Potions book was in braille as well. The other option had been to charm the book to read aloud to her and have the bottles squeak their content everytime she touched them. This was helpful occasionally. As everyone left the hall some people dropped their names in the Goblet of Fire. Sarah conjured a walking stick and was walking slowly to Potions, but paused beside the Goblet. People stopped to watch her as she raised her hand up and dropped her name in. The fire sparkled and a low voice echoed in her head. "You are very brave to enter such a tournament without your vision. There will be many perils ahead, all physical challenges, and very little use for intellect. Do you still wish to continue?" The Goblet was speaking to her. "Yes." Sarah thought back quite firmly. She felt the Goblet give a mental shrug and she walked down to the dungeons. The news ran through the school like a wildfire that the new, blind girl had entered the tournament. Sarah had to endure stares from people all through Potions. It was almost amusing when Snape paired up the students for the entire year. She had Double Potions it turned out with Durmstrang.

_--FLASHBACK--_

_-Potions Class-  
"I will be pairing you up for the entire year with someone from the opposite school. Boys will be with girls if possible. Maybe you will learn to work together without flirting." Snape said. A whole bunch of Gryffindor girls began to whisper excitedly. They all wanted to be the one paired up with Viktor Krum. Viktor sank gloomily into his chair. He had to be with a GIRL? This could be interesting. "Mr. Krum..."Professor Snape said, then he paused, "Hmmmm... you'll work with Miss Griffith this year. Please move next to her." Viktor let out a sigh of relief. If there had been anyone he would have been relieved to work with it was her. She didn't act so empty-headed like the other girls. He sat down beside the quiet girl as moans of disappointment met his ears. His friends grinned at him. Finally everyone was paired up and had set up their items. "I want each of you to begin work on luck potion. Do NOT try any of it! If I find one of you has, he or she will be in serious trouble. Begin!" Snape called and began pacing around the room. The other groups were still goofing off as Sarah waved her wands and their books flipped open to the luck potion. Another flick of her wand made the book speak the ingredients softly to the pair. Each ingredient popped to the front of the table for easy access. "First..." Sarah would pick up an ingredient and Viktor would measure the correct amount. Every now and again Sarah wouldn't let Viktor do it the book's way. "Stir it once clockwise and three times counter-clockwise." He would obey and the mixture was being finished quickly. They added the last ingredients and poured a little into a flask, labeled it and set it on Snape's desk. Viktor cleaned up the mess quickly and then they realized that there were still 20 minutes of class left. For a minute they sat in complete silence as several failed attempts at the potion blew up, or in some cases, melted cauldrons. Then Viktor spoke softly to her. "You said you loved Quidditch, correct?" Sarah nodded startled. Viktor smiled gently, "Would you like to go flying tonight? I've been bored since the World Cup and have been looking for an excuse to take a ride. If you want I could take you with." Sarah couldn't believe her ears. "Fly, on a broom? But---" Sarah tried to think of some reason she couldn't go, but found none. "Yes, absolutely!" She was breathless with joy. "Tell me about the World Cup." She pleaded then. Viktor began to tell in great detail everything that had happened during the game. They both jumped, startled when the bell rang, calling them to the next class. It seemed they had every class together today and most of them tomorrow. He helped her pack up her books and quills before guiding her to the next class. The falcon had not felt it necessary to return to her._

Sarah sat down to lunch at the Gryffindor table. Viktor sat at the Slytherin table, watching everything she did. Even though she couldn't see she was far more graceful than most normal people. There was an air of calm about her and she was far friendlier than most people. Lunch seemed to fly by and soon the two were walking side-by-side to Care of Magical Creatures. "I heard you entered the tournament." Viktor said as they crossed the school grounds. Sarah nodded, "I want some excitement, I haven't had any since I was small and could do nothing." Viktor laughed, "I've entered as well, for the same reasons." He was still leading her by the hand when they reached the lesson. The giant man, Hagrid, had a surprise for them. "For yer first lesson, yer goin' ter 'ave ter learn 'ow ter take care of a unicorn foal. This un' 'ere lost 'is mum a few week ago. Now, yer goin' ter take care of 'im." Sarah was happy enough about this lesson and was the first to the foal. The crowd was frightening the poor thing. She whispered a soft sentence in another language to the foal and it quieted instantly. "What did ye do ter it?" Hagrid demanded. Sarah didn't look up. "I spoke to it in a language it can understand. It should be happier now." The foal began to make high squealing noises and most people covered their ears. Sarah stood up abruptly and strode towards the forest. "Don't ye go in there!" Hagrid exclaimed running after her, but she had already vanished. Viktor and Hagrid searched the woods for her, but she was gone without a trace. "Sarah!" Viktor called moving deeper into the forest. Soft hoof beats made him look up. Sarah was approaching on the back of a tall white unicorn. The unicorn gazed steadily at Viktor. "Come, Hagrid is worried." Sarah said simply. Viktor followed the girl and unicorn back to Hagrid's hut. The other children gasped when they appeared. Even Hagrid backed up a step or two. Viktor helped Sarah off the unicorn's back and the unicorn trotted towards the tiny foal. "The foal was separated from its mother in a centaur attack." Sarah said simply. The tiny foal staggered to its feet and began to follow its mother back to the forest. The unicorn stopped and gave a soft whinny before trotting to Sarah. Sarah held out her hand to the unicorn. The unicorn placed the tip of its horn in the center of Sarah's palm and pushed just hard enough that the tip broke off inside Sarah's hand. Blood welled up for a moment over the wound and horn, but healed over instantly. The girl clenched and unclenched her hand. "Thank you." She whispered as the unicorn ran into the forest with her foal. Viktor took Sarah's hand and stared at the palm of her hand. In the center gleamed a silvery crystal like object in the shape of a unicorn rearing. Sarah smiled before heading back up to the castle as the final bell of the day rang. She headed to the hall with Viktor leading her. She sat down beside a set of twins (Fred and George as she now knew them.) and waited as Dumbledore dimmed the lights. The Goblet of Fire sparked an angry red before spitting out the first name. "The Durmstrang champion is Viktor Krum!" The Durmstrang boys cheered. The Goblet sparked again. "The Beauxbaton champion is Fluer Delacour!" Fluer flounced up to the door and disappeared through it. "And the Hogwarts champion is Cedric Diggory." Sarah's heart sank. "Now that we have our three champions--" Dumbledore began. He was cut off as the Goblet sparked again. Two more pieces fluttered out. He caught them both. "Harry Potter and Sarah Griffith!" Sarah felt her legs shaking as she got to her feet and stepped over to the door. Harry Potter took a little longer to show up. Together they made their way down the steps of the trophy room. The other three were clustered around the fire, Viktor off slightly by himself. "Do zey want us back?" Fluer said haughtily. "Nope, sorry to disappoint you. We're competing as well." Sarah said, grinning in spite of herself. The Goblet had spat out her name! "What!" All three exclaimed at once. Harry glanced at the older girl and had to smile at the look of utter triumph on her face. Viktor ran forward to embrace Sarah. "Congratulations!" He whispered happily in her ear. He jumped away, blushing when he realized everyone was staring at them. She was blushing too.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Broom Rides**

_And I remember the night you said,  
"Lets go for a ride" I didn't want the night to end.  
Would we be more than friends?  
Yet little did I know before,  
we would be something more._

It was 9:00 PM when Sarah slipped out of the Gryffindor Common Room to find Viktor. (The falcon wasn't going to ever come back.) Viktor was waiting for her in the Entrance Hall. "Hello." He whispered wrapping a strong arm around her shoulders and leading her down to the lake's edge. He helped her mount the broom and then got on behind her. The broom lifted off. For the first time since she was blinded, Sarah felt the thrill of the wind rushing through her hair. "How do you like it?" Viktor asked in her ear. "I love it!" She told him. Joy seemed to radiate from her and Viktor felt happier than when he had watched Lynch hit the ground for the second time. (Which by the way, he was happiest then.) "Hold on tight." He told Sarah. She had just gotten a good grip on the handle when Viktor rolled the broom. That was when her imagination took off.

_--Imagination--  
"And there goes Griffith. I think she's seen the Snitch! Ooohh. Narrow miss by a Bludger there. The other Seeker's following her and- jumping bowtruckles! she's flipped herself up, over and down behind him. She going for the Snitch and---------" A long pause as Sarah strained ever finger muscle to reach the Snitch. "And she's got it!" The crowd around her erupted into cheers._

Sarah was jolted out of the thought when Viktor landed the broom. He gently lifted her off the broom to the ground. Sarah was out of breath. "That was wonderful!" She whispered. "I'm glad." Viktor said. That was when Sarah realized how close he was to her. She hugged him. "Thank you so much for this!" Viktor was startled at first, but slowly relaxed. He was beginning to really like this girl. She was smart and daring, kind and funny, imaginative and fierce, everything he had ever looked for in a girl. Yet, she wasn't anything more to him than a friend. He wondered why as they walked back up to the castle.


End file.
